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Reproduction in the plant world happens in a few ways. There are some hermaphrodite plants which have a single flower with both male and female organs. There are other monoecious plants that have two different flowers on the same plant for male and female organs. There are also dioecious plants where the plant only has either male or female organs. Cannabis is one of these plants.

As cannabis only grows as either a male or female plant, it is possible to isolate the benefits of growing female plants without male interference. If you have both types of plants, you could have cross-pollination which results in seeds that are genetically new. If you remove the make plants, the females will become larger and have seedless buds or sensimilla. The buds from the plant that are consumed only come from the female plant.

Seeded buds are also considered to be low-quality when consumed. This is due to the harsh and unpleasant smoke the seeds create. Male plants should only be introduced to pollinate female plants when a new strain is wanted or if you need seeds for the next crop.

When growing these plants, it is possible to guarantee female plants through feminized seeds and clones. If you are working with normal seeds or do not know the seed type, you need to understand how to determine the gender. Fortunately, it is easier than you might imagine to sex the plant once you know what to look for.

How To Determine The Sex Of The Plant

What grows on the nodes of the plant will tell you what the sex is. In this area, you will see either a pollen sac or a stigma which will spread or catch pollen respectively. The pollen sack is only found on male plants and the stigma only on female plants. You will be able to see the difference weeks before they start to serve their purpose in the reproduction cycle. What you are looking for are called pre-flowers.

Pre-flowers generally start to develop around 4 weeks into the plant’s growth. However, it can take a little longer depending on the speed of the sprouting phase. By the sixth week of growth, you should be able to find the pre-flowers and determine the sex of the plant.

It is important to note that the pre-flowers can be very small and hard to determine with the naked eye. A jeweler’s magnifying glass will be able to help you. You should look at the node of the plant and check for the early growth of the pollen sac for male plants. Look in the same area for 2 bracts which will eventually turn into the stigma for the female plants.

There are some other methods to determine the sex of the plant, but looking at the pre-flower formation is considered the most reliable. You will need to remove the make plants early for 2 primary reasons. The first is that the females will have more space to grow and the second will be to stop the males pollinating the females.

Are There Hermaphrodite Cannabis Plants?

When you have a plant with both male and female organs, it will be a hermaphrodite plant. This can happen with cannabis plants and means that the plant can produce pollen and pollinate the entire crop. Many people call the process of the plant getting both organs herming out and will be the result of extreme stress. Your cannabis plants can become extremely stressed when facing:

If your plants are herming out, there are two different types of hermaphrodite cannabis plants that you need to know about. The first is a plant with both a pollen sac and stigma. The second is a place that produces anthers which are often called bananas because of their appearance.

Both of these plants will produce pollen. However, true hermaphrodite plants will have pollen sacs which need to rupture. The anthers are exposed and pollen-producing stamen.

As herming out occurs when plants are stressed, you need to monitor your plants correctly. Another cause of this will be the genetics of the plant. Plants with a history of herming out and poor genetics should be avoided to protect your crop. If you notice any hermaphrodites in your crop, you need to remove them immediately.